Disney to Release Sing-Along BEAUTY AND THE BEAST for Limited Run

Disney’s beloved animated classic Beauty and the Beast is returning to theaters in sing-along fashion. Partnering with National CineMedia’s Fathom, Disney has announced its plans to re-release the film in a very limited theatrical run in select theaters. The feature will remain in 2D (for now…more on that after the jump) but has received an HD makeover and will run from September 29th though October 2nd in the aforementioned sing-along format.

While the ultra-limited run is kind of disheartening for those of us who may not live in and/or around a major market, Walt Disney Home Entertainment will be re-releasing the Beauty sing-along for home consumption shortly after its theatrical run. In other news, it looks like my New Year’s Eve party just became a hit. For more on Beauty‘s return to theaters as well as an update on its eventual 3D release, hit the jump.

Per THR, Beauty‘s return is sparked by the success of a similar sing-along release of Grease this summer. According to the report, that run made Disney around $305,000 from only a few dozen showings. In short, I must ask myself: is this newest release purely a quick-hitting, profit-driven decision? Most likely. Does that mean I wouldn’t pay to sing-along with the classic feature in a large, dark room with a bunch of people I’ve never met. Hell no. I love Beauty and the Beast.

As for Beauty‘s eventual 3D release, THR also reports that Disney (which previously pushed back plans to release the feature in 3D in 2011) now has a 2012 3D release of the classic in mind. While definitely ambiguous, given its high-probability of box-office success, Beauty‘s 3D release is more a matter of exactly when rather than if.